National Post (National Edition)
CFL tweaks rules to boost scoring
HASH MARKS MOVED CLOSER TOGETHER, OFFENCES GET BETTER STARTING FIELD POSITION
Taking its cues from an initial fan survey, an extensive product review involving major stakeholders, and a rather predictable public backlash against a purported move to four downs, the Canadian Football League has looked elsewhere to boost the game's entertainment level.
Topping the list of rule changes approved by the board of governors and announced Wednesday is an adjustment of the hash marks on each side of the field. They will be moved four yards closer to the centre of the field and will be nine yards apart instead of 17.
“Having had a chance to sit with many of our football guys and just talk about it, many of them said we were basically playing 11-man football because the wideout to the wide side of the field was really a non-factor in most offensive plays,” said commissioner Randy Ambrosie. “It was just too long a throw that coaches wouldn't be excited about. So now one of the most prominent features of the Canadian game, our big field, the whole field is part of the offensive canvas. How it plays out we don't know, but I think we're all optimistic this is going to lead to positive change.
“It's well in line with what the original objective was; we want fun, we want fast and we want to be the most entertaining brand of football in the world. I think this is the right change at the right time.”
There are a handful of changes designed to give offences a leg up. Following a made field goal or single point, offensive drives will start on the 40-yard line rather than the 35. Most kickoffs will occur at the 30, rather than the 35, but for one following a safety, which will occur at the 20 rather than 25. All no-yards penalties will be 15 yards, eliminating the fiveyard penalty, in hopes of dissuading intentional violations of the five-yard halo aimed at limiting kick return yardage. And any punt that goes out of bounds before the opponent's 15-yard line will be penalized, another five-yard adjustment from the previous 20-yard line buffer.
“These changes should mean improved field position for the start of offensive series, and that should contribute to more scoring and more sustained drives, which makes for better game flow,” Ambrosie said. “We know offences starting in the shadows of their own goalposts are bound to be more conservative in their play-calling, while good field position gives offences more options. Plus, moving the kickoff following a safety back five yards may discourage coaches from choosing to surrender a safety to protect field position. Having a player take a knee in the end zone may be perceived as strategic, but it is anything but exciting to watch.”
The league will also allow two quarterbacks on the field at the same time, provided all other ratio requirements are met.
Ambrosie said the product review and ensuing rule changes should be viewed through a larger lens.
“We spent the better part of the last two years thinking about how do we fix our business. There were some really great changes; the inclusion of a revenue sharing plan, which had been long, long overdue, the creation of this partnership with Genius Sports. Our fans have been begging us to do more to attract a new generation of fans and now we've got a world-class partner who can help us with that, so that's obviously very exciting.
“But you've got to be looking at your product itself and you've got to make sure it's doing everything it can to entertain our existing fans and attract new ones. That's why the fan survey was so important. But it wasn't just the fan survey. It was looking at the data and the data was telling us that some positive changes were necessary.”
The CFL governors also approved changes to aid the pace of play, which in turn should shorten game times. Chief among them is the addition of a “communications co-ordinator” on each team bench connected by headset to onfield officials. It will eliminate the need for the referee to approach either bench and should make it easier to call timeouts or initiate a challenge. Command Centre involvement will be expanded to include rulings on possession, boundary and formation. The idea is to eliminate the need for a time-consuming and unnecessary coach's challenge, and will be conducted via headset.
The league also instituted an objectionable conduct penalty for quarterbacks who pretend to initiate a slide while carrying the football, and will automatically eject any player who incurs two unnecessary roughness penalties or two objectionable conduct penalties or a combination of the two, for infractions after the whistle.